Better decisions start with better economics.
Practical analysis of the pricing, profitability, growth and operating decisions behind stronger ecommerce businesses.
Start with the decisions that change how you see growth.
When Should You Stop Chasing Revenue and Start Protecting Margin?
Revenue can keep rising after the economics of the next layer of growth have started deteriorating. Learn how incremental margin exposes the point where growth deserves investigation.
Amazon, Shopify or Marketplace: Which Sale Is Actually More Profitable?
Same product. Same selling price. Different channel economics.
How a $100K Store Can Make Less Profit Than a $70K Store
A larger topline can hide weaker economics underneath it.
Profitability is not one problem.
Stronger economics emerge from better decisions across pricing, products, acquisition, operations, cash and growth.
The Business Articles Library
Fifty focused analyses built around real commercial questions rather than generic ecommerce advice.
How a $100K Store Can Make Less Profit Than a $70K Store
Why larger revenue can coexist with dramatically weaker operating economics.
If You Raise Prices 10%, How Much Can Sales Fall Before You Lose Money?
Calculate how much volume can disappear before a price increase weakens total contribution.
7 Places Ecommerce Profit Disappears After the Sale
Follow one order through the costs that accumulate after checkout and reduce retained contribution.
Free Shipping vs Paid Shipping: Where Is the Break-Even Point?
Find the conversion or basket improvement required to pay for merchant-funded shipping.
Your Bestseller Sells 3× More. But Is It Actually Making More Money?
Why the product leading units and revenue can still lose the profitability ranking.
A 20% Discount Does Not Reduce Your Profit by 20%
See how a seemingly ordinary promotion can remove a disproportionate share of contribution.
Sales Grew 30%. Why Did Profit Barely Move?
Use incremental economics to understand why rapid topline growth can create little additional profit.
Profitable but Running Out of Cash: How Can That Happen?
Why inventory, payout timing, debt and growth can create liquidity pressure inside a profitable business.
What Does a 10% Refund Rate Really Cost an Ecommerce Store?
Revenue returned is only one part of the economic damage created by refunds.
Contribution Margin: The Number That Changes Which Products You Should Push
Compare products by what remains after variable costs instead of gross profit alone.
How Much Should You Spend to Acquire a Customer?
Build a sustainable CAC target from contribution economics rather than advertising convention.
ROAS Looks Good. So Why Is the Campaign Losing Money?
Why an advertising metric can look healthy while the orders underneath it create weak economics.
Should You Kill a Low-Margin Product or Try to Fix It?
A decision framework for keeping, repricing, repairing or exiting weak product economics.
Your Supplier Raises Costs 8%. How Much Should Your Price Change?
Translate supplier inflation into the price change actually required to protect contribution.
Is a Bigger Average Order Value Always Better for Profit?
Why a larger basket can create more revenue while generating less contribution per order.
The Product Makes Money. The Customer Does Not.
Product contribution and customer contribution can produce completely different acquisition decisions.
When Does It Make Sense to Sell a Product at a Loss?
A deliberate loss can be rational only when it purchases measurable downstream economic value.
How Much Inventory Can You Afford to Hold?
Balance inventory cover, liquidity, replenishment time and markdown risk before committing cash to stock.
Amazon, Shopify or Marketplace: Which Sale Is Actually More Profitable?
The same SKU can generate a different margin in every channel through which it is sold.
When Should You Stop Chasing Revenue and Start Protecting Margin?
Identify when the next layer of revenue no longer earns enough economic value to justify the resources required.
A Product Has a 60% Gross Margin. Can It Still Be Unprofitable?
Follow the margin waterfall from gross margin to real contribution after acquisition, shipping, fees and refunds.
How Fast Can You Grow Before Cash Becomes the Bottleneck?
See how profitable growth can create a working-capital shortage when inventory and acquisition spend move before cash returns.
Raise Conversion Rate or Increase AOV: Which Growth Lever Makes More Profit?
Compare two familiar growth levers and see why the one that creates more revenue may not create more contribution.
You Have $50,000 in Inventory. How Much of It Is Actually Working?
Separate productive stock from slow and dead inventory to see how much working capital is really creating economic value.
Free Shipping at $50 or $75: Which Threshold Makes More Money?
Compare conversion, basket size and shipping subsidy to find the threshold that creates stronger contribution.
Your CAC Increased from $28 to $36. Should You Stop the Campaign?
Diagnose a rising acquisition cost using contribution, break-even CAC and payback instead of reacting to CAC alone.
Shipping Costs Increased by $2 per Order. Should You Raise Prices or Absorb It?
Stress-test the profit impact of higher shipping costs and compare absorbing, passing on or sharing the increase.
A Customer Places 4 Orders a Year. How Much Can You Really Afford to Spend to Acquire Them?
Follow contribution through repeat purchases to see how payback time changes the CAC a business can realistically support.
Your Best Product Has a 70% Margin. Why Can It Still Be the Wrong Product to Scale?
See how marginal CAC, discounts, refunds and operating pressure can make the next layer of product growth less attractive.
Your Supplier Offers 10% Off if You Buy Twice the Inventory. Is It Actually a Good Deal?
Compare the supplier saving with the extra cash, sell-through risk and inventory exposure required to earn it.
Revenue describes activity. Economics determine whether that activity deserves to grow.
Articles 31–50
Amazon Revenue Is Growing but Profit Is Falling. Where Is the Money Going?
How Much Do Amazon Fees Really Reduce Your Product Margin?
Should You Lower Your Amazon Price to Win More Sales?
Amazon FBA vs Self-Fulfillment: Which Is Actually More Profitable?
Your Store Is Growing 30% but Profit Is Flat. What Should You Check First?
How Much Revenue Do You Need to Add $10,000 in Real Profit?
When Does a Low-Margin Bestseller Become a Business Risk?
How Much Cash Should an Ecommerce Business Keep Available?
Can a Profitable Ecommerce Store Still Be Unable to Pay Its Bills?
Should You Use Cash to Buy Inventory or Keep It in the Business?
Is Buying Inventory in Bulk Actually Cheaper?
How Much Safety Stock Can You Afford Before It Hurts Cash Flow?
Should You Raise Prices or Sell More Units to Reach Your Profit Target?
How Much Margin Can You Give Away Before a Promotion Stops Making Sense?
Your CAC Is Rising but Revenue Is Growing. Is the Campaign Still Healthy?
More Traffic or Better Conversion Rate: Which Creates More Profit?
When Should You Offer Free Returns — and When Are They Too Expensive?
Is Your Most Valuable Customer Also Your Most Profitable Customer?
How Accurate Does an Ecommerce Profit Forecast Need to Be?
What Happens to Profit if Sales Grow but Costs Grow Faster?
The articles explain the decisions. MarginLab helps you investigate them in your own data.
Product economics, contribution, margin deterioration, profit leaks and recovery opportunities become more useful when they are connected to the commercial reality of your own store.
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